Humboldt Park – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Humboldt Park covers 73 acres in the Bay View neighborhood. Each year, thousands of people take advantage of the beautiful scenery, cultural events, and numerous amenities. The park houses an outdoor music stage, park pavilion, war memorial, rambling trails, picnic areas, and lagoons. An extensive list of events provide visitors with plenty of reasons to enjoy Humboldt Park.
Humboldt Park Friends invite you to learn more about events, attractions, and scenery that make this park special to the neighborhood and visitors.
Our Mission
Humboldt Park Friends is a non-profit organization focused on engaging the Bay View neighborhood and greater Milwaukee communities and fostering park stewardship through volunteering, preserving park history, improving park amenities and safety, and sponsoring events and programming for education and enjoyment of Humboldt Park.
Our History
Humboldt Park is one of six parks created when the city of Milwaukee established a Parks Commission in 1890. The park was originally named South Park and opened to the public in 1891. Its original 45 acres were completely fenced in. Extensive park construction occurred in 1893.
Amenities
Humboldt Park offers an impressive blend of natural beauty with events and amenities creating an enjoyable urban park experience. There are many amenities that the community can take advantage of. Discover More >
Become a Member
Membership in Humboldt Park Friends enables you to vote for board leadership, support park programming and events, and help support our mission.
News
Alexander von Humboldt birthday celebration
On September 14, 1869, 15,000 in New York marched through Central Park with torches in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Alexander von Humboldt, the scientist and explorer for whom Humboldt Park is named. Similar events were held in Melbourne,...
Humboldt Park Friends 2023 Annual Report
The day starts early in Humboldt Park in the Bay View neighborhood of Milwaukee. Dog walkers, photographers, and Brew Heroes picking up trash begin before sun-up. Our Facebook page, Humboldt Park Friends, is filled with images showcasing our wildlife, landscapes, and...
Jazz at the Vine 2023: A Melodic Journey Through Humboldt Park
We're still riding the waves of euphoria from this year's Jazz at the Vine concert series, and we can't help but share our gratitude and admiration for this magical event that resonated through the heart of Humboldt Park. Humboldt Park Friends was able to almost...
The Humboldt Park Lagoon needs some love from the Bay View community!
The lagoon is one of the most beautiful features of Humboldt Park, and it provides an essential habitat for a variety of plants and animals. The lagoon also provides activities and enjoyment for park visitors, and we are asking for the support of the Bay View...
2023 Humboldt Park Friends Survey Results
Based on the responses, most users visit the park for either attending events or for walking jogging and running. There is also a large percentage that walk their pets at the park on a regular basis. Picnicking, relaxing and enjoying the playground were other standout categories. The most requested programs at the park were Art in the Park, Nature Walks and workshops with Yoga and Birdwatching closely behind. Improvements respondents would like to see implemented were More Food and Drink Options, More Activities and Events, More Trash and Recycling Bins, More Seating Areas and Better Lighting.
THANK YOU!! We are halfway there!
We are thrilled to announce that we are halfway to our goal of planting 100 trees at Humboldt Park!
We are so thankful to everyone who donated to the 100 For Humboldt tree planting program. During the Thanksgiving holiday, we will celebrate the program’s success by tying bows on the 50 new trees planted so far.
We are celebrating the inaugural year of Jazz At The Vine!
We want to thank everyone who came out to enjoy the Jazz at the Vine series.
A huge thank you to the Humboldt Park Friends and Milwaukee County Parks for making Jazz at the Vine a reality.
We put on four performances featuring some of Milwaukee’s premiere jazz artists on the last Thursday night of May, June, July, and August at the Humboldt Park Beer Garden and we had great crowds for all of the nights.
Corn Roast 2022 was a great success!
We want to thank everyone who came out and helped support the park with some very tasty sweet corn. Our volunteers roasted and served up 8 cases or 384 ears of corn. A big thank you to everyone who volunteered to help make this year’s corn roast a great event.
Humboldt Park’s Waters Are A Reflection Of A Rich Eco-History
Humboldt Park’s lagoon is the centerpiece of the park, a natural focal point for visitors to congregate around and navigate by. The importance of water bodies like these in cities cannot be underestimated, whether that be for their wellbeing benefits or, as the NRPA highlights, their crucial work in cycling and cleaning local water supplies.
Humboldt Park Heroes: Laureen Stirmel
Our next Humboldt Park Hero is Laureen Stirmel, a long-time Bay View resident and great friend of the park. Laureen has been an active volunteer and supporter of the park for many years. Laureen is a Humboldt Park Friends board member and serves as the Treasurer.
Humboldt Park Heroes: Greg Stilin
Our newest Humboldt Park Hero is Greg Stilin, a long-time Bay View resident and great friend of the park. If you have enjoyed ice skating or hockey on the Humboldt Park lagoon, it is because of Greg. Greg monitors the ice thickness at the beginning of every skating season and coordinates with the parks department to open the lagoon for skating.
Humboldt Park Friends 2021 Annual Report
Photo by Konrad Kuchenbach Without our friends and neighbors, Humboldt Park would be a patch of grass and trees. But for over 100 years and multiple generations, Humboldt has been a vibrant and integral part of the Bay View community. We created a beautiful place for...
